CARSON, Calif. – Real Monarchs SLC held on to take a 3-2 victory against the LA Galaxy II to earn a second consecutive win in its preseason trip to California on Saturday afternoon at StubHub Center.

The Monarchs took the lead in the 11th minute when Sebastian Velasquez gained possession in midfield, and his run and cross found Daniel Haber for a close-range finish. The Galaxy II began to apply pressure following the goal, and Justin Dhillon forced a save by Connor Sparrow in the 22nd minute, but it was the Monarchs who doubled their lead nine minutes before halftime when Chase Minter scored his third goal of the preseason off a pass by Nick Besler.

Los Dos quickly responded as Dhillon sent an angled shot into the net after a defensive giveaway, halving the deficit as the teams went to the halftime break. 

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The two teams went back and forth in the second half, but a goal by Real’s Omar Holness from distance restored the Monarchs’ two-goal lead in the 66th minute. The Galaxy II again made it a one-goal game quickly as the hosts were awarded a penalty kick four minutes later when Miguel Aguilar was brought down in the penalty area and Adonis Amaya converted from the spot, but the Monarchs held on late to earn the victory.

“I thought we did really well,” said Minter. “There was a lot of things that we’d talked about in training leading up to this, and this was kind of our first real big challenge with the Galaxy II always being a quality side, and we did very well. We completed a lot of things that we wanted to see out of the game, but obviously there still a lot we need to work on.”